Independent diamond producer Petra Diamonds has announced that it achieved revenues of $67.9 million from its third tender cycle for the 2024 financial year, which ended in December 2023. This represents a 68% increase on the previous tender cycle and a 19.3% increase on a like-for-like basis, indicating that the diamond market has recovered from the slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company sold 519.4 thousand carats (kcts) of rough diamonds in the third tender cycle, up 17% on the second tender cycle and 71% on the same period last year. The average price per carat was $131, up 44% on the second tender cycle and down 4% on the same period last year. The company attributed the price improvement to strong demand for smaller diamonds as well as the sale of a rare 12.6ct blue diamond from its Cullinan mine in South Africa for $6.2 million.
Petra Diamonds has four mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania. The company’s flagship Cullinan Mine, known for producing some of the world’s largest and most valuable diamonds, saw the highest price increase among its mines, from US$78 per carat in the second tender cycle to US$139 per carat in the third tender cycle. The Finsch and Williamson mines in Tanzania also saw modest price increases, while the Koffiefontein mine was excluded from the results as it is classified as a discontinued operation.
The company’s total revenue for the first three tender cycles of the 2024 financial year was $187.8 million, down 7% on the same period last year. The company said that the year-on-year comparison was affected by the shift of some sales packages from the last financial year to the current one due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
